


Not the Same Auld Lang Syne

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: How Soon is Now? [5]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 05:03:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2415932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He didn’t want her to be alone anymore.  Damn him and his hero complex.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not the Same Auld Lang Syne

**Author's Note:**

> This is in my kinda canon AU where Hotch worked for Ambassador Prentiss straight out of the FBI. I’m struggling for a title for this series…it’s never been so hard for me to do this. One year, young love, something should be jumping out at me but its not. The title is a play on the Dan Fogelberg song; I'm in a Christmas mood. This is **#5** in the **How Soon is Now?** series.

“Oh God, ohhh Emily, sweet Jesus!”

He felt lightheaded, and then the blackness engulfed him. The fireworks followed, dancing behind his eyelids. Hotch felt as if he were flying and knew that Emily was with him. The way she gripped his hips, whimpered his name; she had to be. Just to be sure, Hotch gently stroked between her thighs. She quivered; a sob came out from her throat as her clit contracted against his fingers.

He did it again and again, each of her moans louder than the last, until finally she pulled his hand away. Hotch climaxed as she took his fingers into her mouth and sucked them dry. His kisses were deep and passionate...tasting her all over her lips nearly drove him to madness. The world stopped spinning as he collapsed on top of her. Emily held him tight, feeling him so deep inside of her she was sure that he would always be there.

“Oh my God,” he whispered against her lips.

“Are you alright, Aaron?”

“No,” he shook his head. “I'm…”

“Speechless?” Emily asked, smiling as she kissed him.

Hotch used the last of his strength to pull out, collapsing on the mattress. Emily pulled the satin sheet around her naked body. The feeling of being without him made her shiver. Thinking she was cold, Hotch pulled her against him and held her close. Emily turned away; Hotch moved his body behind her. She always preferred to spoon…he thought it was so he wouldn’t see her when she spoke.

Emily could tell him anything but he doubted there would ever be a time when she could do it face to face. As sounds filtered back into his universe, Hotch could hear George Michael on the radio across the room. The local love song show was Emily’s guilty pleasure. She surely never wanted any of her “friends” to know that she loved it, but she did. Hotch knew she did.

“You're quiet.” He brushed her raven hair away, pressing his lips to the nape of her neck.

Emily opened her mouth to speak, thought twice, and remained silent. She looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was 11:11.

“Make a wish, Hotch.”

“What?”

“Make a wish…you have less than sixty seconds.”

Hotch didn’t know what she was talking about but did as she asked. Then he held her tighter.

“Don’t tell me what you wished for.” Emily said. “Wishes don’t come true when you say them aloud.”

“I know.”

“What were you doing this time last year?”

“I went home; a friend was having a New Year’s party. It had gotten around, by my mother no doubt, that I was going into the FBI Academy. Everyone had questions.”

“How does one end up in the FBI?” Emily asked. She turned to face him but moved out of his arms.

Hotch didn’t like it, though he knew there was plenty of time to hold on. He reached out to stroke her face.

“Well, I graduated from Duke Law School, passed the bar, and went straight to work at the Wake County DA’s office in Raleigh. I was assigned a police precinct in Southeast Raleigh, mostly prosecuting cases that ended up being pled out. Small time stuff mostly. Then there were 6 rapes in a two month span. Many of the victims were students at Shaw University and the 6th rape resulted in murder.”

“That happened in your precinct?”

“Yeah,” Hotch nodded. “It didn’t take long for investigators to know they were dealing with a serial and he was escalating. They didn’t want to but after the second murder the FBI was called in. That’s how I met Jason Gideon. He was the BAU Unit Chief.”

“What’s the BAU?”

“The Behavioral Analysis Unit; they study criminal behavior and use it to catch the perpetrators. I helped with the case because I had already interviewed many of the victims and they knew me. Victimology is essential in profiling criminal behavior. The police made me Gideon’s “partner” because he didn’t seem to get along with any of the officers. Profiling is still looked on by some as a junk science.”

“How is it looked on by you?” Emily asked.

“I saw it used to catch a murderer. That was good enough for me. After the case, Agent Gideon gave me his card. He said he wanted to see me in Quantico in January. Jason Gideon isn’t exactly the kind of guy who leaves room for argument. So, last New Year’s Eve I went home to Richmond to see friends and live a little before I joined the FBI.”

“If you're a behavioral analyst, how the hell did you get stuck with my mother? Shouldn’t you be out catching people like Ted Bundy? I mean surely she’s fascinating but I can tell you all about her. You don’t have to waste your time profiling her. Wait a minute…are you here to profile me?”

“I'm not profiling anyone. You don’t go from the Academy to the BAU, Em; at least I don’t. It’s important to me to have field experience. I want time to grow, learn, and make my mistakes. I want time to learn from those mistakes. I figure five or six good years in the field, and then I can take my Supervisory Special Agent exams and see if the BAU is right for me.”

“Does Jason Gideon believe in you?” Emily asked.

“Yes,” Hotch nodded.

“So do I.”

He smiled, leaning to kiss her nose.

“What were you doing last New Year’s Eve, Emily Prentiss?”

“Same old, same old,”

“Tell me,” His voice was teasing as he twirled a finger through her hair.

“We were in London for the holiday; Mother has a condo at 16 Downing Street. She threw a huge New Year’s Eve party for diplomats and bigwigs. Amy Fleming was there, she’s 19 and the daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland. She had a little X so we threw a party of our own. I drank too much champagne, flirted with Brendan O’ Connell, who swore to me he was entrenched with the IRA to write his book, and ended the night on my back.”

“What did he do to you?” Hotch asked. He got a bad taste in his mouth and his stomach turned.

“I didn’t say no, Hotch.”

“Of course you didn’t…you were high on drugs and drunk from champagne. Emily...”

“Please don’t turn me into a victim. I knew what was going to happen…it’s not like it hasn’t happened before. It was a stupid mistake; I kind of have this tendency to make them at an alarming rate. Do you know he actually asked me to be discreet,” Emily laughed but it was bitter. “If only he knew that I'm the soul of discretion. Brendan has no idea just how much I keep deep inside of me.”

“I'm glad you're here with me tonight. No mistakes; no regrets.”

Hotch pulled her close, kissing her forehead and then her lips. Was anyone looking out for her? Drug fueled sex parties hosted by her own mother? It was a clear cry for help. Elizabeth Prentiss probably didn’t know what was happening under her own nose. She was ambitious, powerful, and busy but Hotch didn’t think the Ambassador would ever knowingly let her daughter engage in the things she engaged in.

“Now you probably think I'm a whore.”

Emily got out of bed, wrapping herself in the blanket from the bottom. She walked over to the window and looked down on Washington, DC. They’d rented one of the most expensive hotel suites in the city for long weekend. Emily just wanted to get away from it all. Her mother was in Czechoslovakia, had left the night after Christmas. Emily would be alone for the next three weeks.

Hotch wanted to do something special for her. He wanted to do it even as he chastised himself the entire time for getting in deeper with the young woman. The hotel had been her idea and he went along. It was nicer than spending too much time in his cramped Georgetown apartment. Everyone thought she was on a ski trip with friends and Hotch accompanied her to Vermont.

The idea of her spending New Year’s Eve alone did not sit right with him. He didn’t want her to be alone anymore. Damn him and his hero complex. Damn him for feelings he couldn’t put into words or control. It wouldn’t be fair to damn Emily; this was all his doing. This was his undoing.

“Don’t you ever say anything like that again.” Hotch said. “I could never think that about you…I wouldn’t.”

“You hardly know me.” Emily whispered.

“That’s where you're wrong. Surely there is more to learn but I saw through the mask a long time ago. There is something beautiful underneath, Emily. Even if you don’t see it, I do.”

“You think I'm beautiful?” she turned to look at him.

“Of course I do, baby. You're the most beautiful girl in the world.”

“If you keep saying things like that, Aaron Hotchner, you're going to get yourself in a world of trouble.”

“Too late.” Hotch grinned and his dimples poked into his cheeks. “Come back to bed.”

“You need to come and see this view; it’s amazing. C'mon.” Emily called him over with her hand before turning back to the picture window. A light snow was falling over the nation’s capital. She relaxed her body on Hotch’s when he came and wrapped his arms around her. “What do you think?”

“I can see everything from here. There's the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and look at the stars sparkling off the Potomac…its amazing.”

“It helps me dream.” Emily said.

“What do you dream about?”

“Making this moment in time last forever.”

“Nothing lasts forever.” Hotch replied.

Emily sighed, leaning on him. She took hold of his hand and pressed her own to it. He had such strong, masculine hands. Hotch laced his fingers through hers, holding their joined hands to his lips.

“I'm going to make it last forever, Hotch, in my dreams.”

“We’re together right now, and that’s reality. I think you should focus on that.”

“In a little while, it'll be the New Year.” Emily said. “Do you have any resolutions?”

“I don’t think I've made any since I was a kid.”

“I don’t either. They're just made to be broken.” Emily turned in his arms. She slipped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair. “Take me to bed, Aaron, I want to be making love when midnight comes.”

He took her face in his hands, kissing her nose. There was much more that he wanted to say but wasn’t sure how. The words he could form, Hotch didn’t think it was a good idea to say them anyway.

“I've mastered your facial expressions,” Emily ran her fingers over his face. “You want to say something. Just say it…we don’t have to keep things from each other.”

“Emily, you are so amazing. I…”

“Me too,” she kissed him. “Me too, Hotch.”

She led him back to the bed and Hotch surrendered to her want. Emily was good at what she did and when they were both satisfied nearly to the point of exhaustion, they talked. They talked and talked, never wanting to stop. Hotch had no idea what the coming year would bring but nothing would compare to how he brought it in. Emily hardly wanted to sleep; she wanted to hold onto this moment. This was a waking dream and she feared closing her eyes. The nightmare of her loneliness was just on the other side.

“Sweet dreams.” Hotch whispered as sleep overpowered him.

“I truly hope so.” Emily replied. “Sweet dreams, Aaron Hotchner.”

***


End file.
